This invention relates generally to ergonomic improvements for portable computers such as notebook computers and laptop computers.
Keyboards for desktop computers are commonly provided with retractable legs to allow the user to selectively angle the keyboard during use. When the legs are retracted, the bottom of such a keyboard will be flat and will rest flush on a horizontal support surface such as a desk or a keyboard tray. With the legs in their extended position, though, the keyboard is tilted, with the front of the keyboard (i.e., the edge of the keyboard positioned closer to the user) being lower than the rear of the keyboard. Presenting the keyboard to the user at an angle in this fashion facilitates a more ergonomic hand and wrist orientations when the user types on the keyboard.
Most commercially available portable computers do not permit ergonomic adjustments of the keyboard. Typically, these portable computers have a display which is hingedly connected to a base which houses a processor. The keyboard is carried on an upper face of the base and its orientation with respect to the base remains fixed. In use, the bottom surface of the base will rest on a horizontal support surface. Because the orientation of the keyboard remains fixed with respect to the base, the user is not permitted to adjust the keyboard to a more ergonomic configuration.
To address this shortcoming, a number of people have suggested providing portable computers with small retractable legs similar to those provided on conventional keyboards. Conventional keyboards tend to be fairly lightweight and remain in place with the associated desktop computer. Retractable legs on a portable computer are subject to significantly greater stress than are the legs of a regular keyboard, though. The small retractable legs are required to support the entire weight of the portable computer, which is likely considerably greater than that of a conventional keyboard. In addition, the legs must be retracted every time the portable computer is stored for transport and deployed again for use. This places additional strain on small retractable legs.
Other people have proposed making the keyboard on a portable computer movable with respect to the base. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,036, Lin et al. proposed a portable computer with a separate, self-contained keyboard structure that is attached to the rest of the base by a hinge. By pivoting the front of the keyboard about the hinge, the angle of the keyboard with respect to the rest of the base can be adjusted. This permits the base to remain in flush contact with the support surface and the hinge of the keyboard need only support the weight of the keyboard instead of supporting the weight of the entire computer.
Because portable computers are carried from place to place, they are often subjected to more rigorous conditions than their desktop counterparts. Even so, users want the computer to be lightweight and relatively thin so it is easier to carry. Portable computers with tiltable keyboards usually make certain sacrifices in durability and/or portability to enable the keyboard to tilt. Providing the keyboard in a durable separable housing helps the portable computer withstand the rigors of use, but can increase the weight and thickness of the computer. Conversely, omitting such a housing may achieve a relatively small profile and minimize weight, but the design will tend to be less robust.
The present invention is directed toward an articulate base for a portable computer, a portable computer having such a base, and a method of configuring a computer. In one embodiment, the base has a front segment and a rear segment connected by a hinge. The front and rear segments are pivotable with respect to one another about the hinge to move the base from a flat configuration to at least one angled configuration. In the angled configuration or configurations, the hinge is elevated and the front and rear segments are both inclined upwardly toward the hinge. The base may include a keyboard which is inclined upwardly toward the hinge when the base is in its angled configuration, thereby presenting the keyboard to a user at an angle. When the base is in its angled configuration(s), it may be adapted to rest on a horizontal support at spaced-apart front and rear support locations. The front support location may be positioned adjacent to the front edge of the base and rear support location may be positioned adjacent to the rear edge of the base.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a portable computer which includes an articulate base, a display and a user input device (e.g., a keyboard). The articulate base may include a lower front edge, a lower rear edge, a front segment having a lower face extending rearwardly from the front edge, and a rear segment having a lower face extending forwardly from the rear edge. The lower faces of the front and rear segments may adjoin one another at a junction. The front and rear segments are movable with respect to one another from a flat storage orientation to at least one use orientation. In the flat storage orientation, the lower front edge, the lower rear edge and the junction may be generally coplanar. In the use orientation(s), the lower front edge and the lower rear edge define a base plane and the junction is elevated above the base plane. The display may be carried by the rear segment. The user input device may be carried by an upper face of the front segment to present the user input device to a user at an angle with respect to the base plane when the junction is elevated above that plane.
Yet another embodiment of the invention provides a portable computer which has an articulate face, a display and a keyboard. The base has a front segment having a lower face and a rear segment having a lower face. The lower faces of the front and rear segments define a lower surface of the base upon which the computer may rest on a horizontal surface, such as a desk. The front and rear segments are movable with respect to one another from a flat configuration to an angled configuration. In the flat configuration of the base, the lower face of the front segment is aligned with the lower face of the rear segment such that the lower surface of the base is flat. In the angled configuration of the base, the lower surface of the base has an apex at a junction of the front and rear segments, the lower face of the front segment inclines downwardly in a forward direction from the apex and the lower face of the rear segment inclines downwardly in a rearward direction from the apex so that that lower surface of the base is angled. The display is pivotably connected to the rear segment. The keyboard is carried by an upper face of the front segment and is presented to a user at an angle when the base is in its angled configuration.
In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method of configuring a portable computer. A lid of the portable computer is pivoted about a first hinge to move the lid from a storage orientation, in which it covers the keyboard, to a use orientation, in which the keyboard is exposed for use. This method may also include the act of resting the computer on a horizontal surface with lower faces of front and rear base segments aligned to define a flat base of the computer which extends along and rests on the horizontal surface. The method may further include pivoting the front and rear base segments with respect to one another about the second hinge to elevate the second hinge above the horizontal surface. This pivoting inclines the lower surfaces of the front and rear base segments downwardly away from the hinge to contact with the horizontal surface.